Following the now infamous ‘fight’ that saw MMA practitioner Xu Xiaodong (徐晓冬) KO Taijiquan practitioner Lei Gong (雷公) in just 20 seconds, an uproar was triggered throughout China’s national martial arts community, discussing the implications of these events. On May 5th, 2017, traditional Chinese martial artist – 61 year old Master Wang Lei (王磊) - decided to publish his opinion on this matter. Master Wang Lei is the ‘head’ of the ‘Defend House Pierce Foot’ (保府戳脚 – Bao Fu Chuo Jiao) traditional martial arts style, and after a lifetime of martial arts practice, is qualified to comment on this situation.

Master Wang Lei said that the MMA (as practiced by Xu Xiaodong) is premised only upon athletic ability (and uncontrolled aggression), and rejects all association with Chinese martial arts history. Master Lei Gong represents a system of Taijiquan that he has developed himself, and which is premised (at least in principle), upon Chinese martial arts development. However, the outcome of the ‘fight’ can only be a measure of the two fighters’ ability on the day, and not an indicator of the validity of the two martial systems concerned. As many (inner and outer) factors contribute to these encounters, it is obvious that what is on display is the ‘personal’ abilities of each participant – and nothing else. Therefore, it is highly disrespectful, illogical and ‘ahistorical’ to assume that the defeat of Master Lei Gong – just one man - equates to the defeat of the entire Taijiquan system. Such a view is premised upon a lack of knowledge and understanding, and should not be held or expressed. It simply does not make sense that Master Lei Gong represents the entire Taijiquan martial art, as this art is collectively preserved nation-wide, by all the appropriately qualified Taijiquan masters in China. For Taijiquan to be defeated, every national master in China would have to be challenged and defeated, and that will just never happen. Anyone who thinks like this is mistaken, and has a very narrow mind and an undeveloped understanding of history, as genuine traditional Chinese martial arts practice is premised upon a foundation of ‘virtue’ (德 – De), which develops an appropriate martial ‘pathway’ (行 – Xing) that generates a personality that manifests an ideal behaviour (风范 – Feng Tan).

Master Wang Lei explained that in his opinion, Xu Xiaodong practises a ‘fake’ (打假 – Da Jia) form of martial arts that is superficial, and contains terrible weaknesses and other combative flaws, that are hidden behind a veneer of aggression, and contests regulated by rules designed to keep these inadequacies ‘hidden’ from public view. Whereas these modern trends are generally negative, traditional Chinese martial systems are entirely positive, being good for the individual and for society. In many ways, modern China’s affluence has created a double-edged sword – yes, today everyone in China lives very well, but this has led to a certain misuse of this affluence by some people – and Xu Xiaodong is one of them. As he no longer has to fight for his life, or his next meal to survive, he fights instead for the glorification of his own ego, at the expense of China’s profound and complex traditional martial arts systems. Instead of using the affluence his government has given him to help others, he wastes his time attacking and hurting others. This is a waste of a life and a waste of time. Of course, Xu Xiaodong is not an isolated incident of shallowness and fakery. Many people of dubious (and ugly) character have set-up false styles as a means to illicit money from others (often appearing on TV), whilst teaching these people one or two simplistic martial movements with no real depth of understanding. This trend has undoubtedly damaged the reputation of Chinese martial arts, with some foreigners having a mistakenly negative view of our traditions. I once heard South Koreans (of all people), refer to Chinese martial arts as being on the same developmental level as Chinese football!

The point is that Xu Xiaodong does not possess a proper understanding of the depth of Chinese martial history – this observation is the basis of his ignorance and his deficient behaviour. Chinese martial arts practice possesses many complex systems of physical and psychological conditioning exercises that generate many different and powerful close quarter combat skills. These training regimens are difficult to learn and difficult to practice, as they demand a very good teacher and a student that possesses a virtuous character from the beginning of training. Such training also involves the use of weaponry (as an extension of the body), including spears, sticks, broadswords, long swords, benches and knives, etc. Two historical figures of note in China are ‘Wang Wu’ (王五) who used a large broadsword (大刀 – Da Dao), and Zhao Yun (赵云) who used the long spear (长枪 – Chang Jian).

Master Wang Lei (now 61) has practised ‘Northern Defend Home Pierce Foot Fist’ (北方戳脚拳 - Bei Fang Chuo Jiao Quan) since his childhood. After a lifetime of arduous training, dedication and sacrifice, Master Wang Lei penetrated the essential nature (精髓 – Jing Sui), or ‘marrow’ of his style. He has combined this ‘root’ style with the mastered essence of ‘Thirteen Step Taiji Form’ (太极十三形 – Tai Ji Shi San Xing), as well as numerous weapons – but is renowned for his use of the ‘spear’ (枪).